Melissa Overbeck
Assistant Perspectives Editor
“Warning: This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.”
These words, printed on stickers in science textbooks, have caused uproar in a Southern Georgia community, elevating tensions in the ongoing battle between creationists and evolutionists.
Officials of Cobb County schools decided to add the stickers after parents banded together to sign a petition objecting to the use of textbooks that only discussed evolution. The petition criticized the use of one sided textbooks and pushed for inclusion of alternative theories including creationism to the curriculum.
A group of parents, backed by the ACLU, recently took the school district to court, arguing that the stickers discredit the idea of evolution and tailor students’ education to accommodate one group’s religious beliefs.
While it is important for lawmakers to ensure that students are not having religious beliefs forced upon them, this case does not advocate the inclusion of religious beliefs, and thus should never have made it to court. While it is true that teaching creationism in schools was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1979, adding the stickers to textbooks is not the same as teaching creationism, not to mention that the stickers do not even mention creationism. In fact, the message on the stickers could be taken the entirely opposite way—as telling students who do not believe in evolution to consider it with an open mind.
The fact of the matter is that the statement on the stickers is accurate. The truth is that evolution, like creation, is a theory. Some subscribe to it, others choose not to. The stickers do not tell students whether evolution is right or wrong. All they ask is that students view the material with an open mind and evaluate it.
It is surprising that members of the academic community would take issue with this statement. Teachers and professors around the country are constantly striving to teach students to think critically and look at the world with an open mind. This attitude of careful scrutiny is considered desirable—until it conflicts with a topic as sensitive and controversial as evolution.
The argument that the stickers discredit evolution is unfounded. If evolution is, as these parents believe, true, students who follow the instructions on the sticker will critically examine the theory and determine that it is in fact valid.
The legal argument that this is a violation of the Establishment Clause is even phonier. It will be impossible for the ACLU to prove that the school districts intent was not secular, that this sticker advances or inhibits religion or that the action fosters excessive government entanglement with religion. The court must throw this case out; it never should have taken it in the first place.
It is time for parents on both sides to stop censoring the debate on evolution and allow students to learn in a true academic environment—one that encourages them to maintain an open mind and think critically, on every subject.
11-11-2004